Americans United - The Faith-Based Initiative & Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providershttps://au.org/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers
Americans should have the right to contribute only to the religious groups of their choosing (or refrain from supporting any). The “faith-based” initiative violates this concept by awarding tax dollars taken from all citizens to religious groups that may use the money to further their sectarian views. Furthermore, many of these groups take tax aid yet engage in religious discrimination in hiring. Americans United believes that any religious group that accepts public funds should be required to provide services in a secular manner and agree to hire the best-qualified applicants, not just those who belong to their faith group. We oppose the faith-based initiative as currently constituted and believe that religious groups are better off relying on private funding for their social-service projects.
enGlobal Issues: U.S. Charities Proselytize Overseas Using Public Fundshttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/global-issues-us-charities-proselytize-overseas-using-public-funds
<a href="/about/people/ms-sarah-jones">Sarah Jones</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Among the worst offenders: Samaritan’s Purse. The Boone, N.C., based charity, founded by Franklin Graham, is active in India, and conducts international aid projects with the intent to evangelize local beneficiaries. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>It’s unconstitutional for faith-based organizations (FBOs) to proselytize using public funds, but some FBOs manage to circumvent these rulings by conducting their evangelistic charity projects overseas. <a href="http://www.firstpost.com/india/uncle-sam-may-indirectly-funding-religious-conversion-india-2176175.html">In a recent article</a> for Firstpost, an Indian website, Rupa Subramanya argues that this may begin to strain foreign relations, just as it strains the boundaries of constitutional law.<br /><br />“Despite uncertainty about whether it is even constitutional, given the U.S. First Amendment’s ‘establishment clause’ separating church and state, FBOs have played an important role, starting during the administration of President Bill Clinton, carrying through that of George W. Bush in a significant way and continuing into that of Barack Obama,” Subramanya writes, referring to what is now the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.</p><p>Among the worst offenders: Samaritan’s Purse. The Boone, N.C., based charity, founded by Franklin Graham, is active in India, and conducts international aid projects with the intent to evangelize local beneficiaries. That makes sense given who runs it: Graham, son of Billy, is infamous for making inflammatory remarks about <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/franklin-graham-muslims-who-hate-israel-and-hate-christians-run-white-house">Muslims</a>, <a href="https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=794314610624722&amp;id=131201286936061">atheists</a> and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2014/04/21/franklin-grahams-detestable-anti-gay-statements/">LGBT people</a>, and there’s no question that his charity work is intended to double as a conversion tactic.</p><p>Samaritan’s Purse’s most famous initiative, “Operation Christmas Child,” is an excellent example of Graham’s missionary ethos. To participate, individuals fill shoeboxes with toys, toiletries and Evangelical literature; the boxes are then sent to children in developing countries.</p><p>Because Samaritan’s Purse targets children and requires little effort from participants, it’s appealing to U.S. Christians: The organization reportedly sent <a href="http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/one-in-10-million/">10 million shoeboxes</a> overseas in 2014 alone. That’s proselytization on a mass scale, and Subramanya accurately calls it “an increasingly sophisticated and savvy enterprise.”</p><p>She also notes, correctly, that it’s facilitated by the federal government. USAID lists the charity as one of its partner private voluntary organizations (PVOs).</p><p>“Registered PVOs are eligible to compete for grants and other types of funding, and gain greater visibility with USAID staff and Missions,” <a href="http://www.usaid.gov.edgekey.net/sites/default/files/documents/1866/volag2013.pdf">a 2014 report explains</a>.</p><p>Although Samaritan’s Purse also funds a medical mission, agricultural programs and anti-human trafficking initiatives, these efforts can’t be divorced from the group’s sectarian intent. In fact, it’s been a consistent problem: Graham <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/bush-aids-machine">was censured in 2001</a> for proselytizing during a USAID-funded trip to conduct earthquake relief in El Salvador.</p><p>Despite this, Graham has managed to build a significant missionary enterprise, and it thrives with the federal government’s help.</p><p>Subramanya’s article also takes aim at <a href="http://www.partnersworldwide.org/where-we-work/united-states/">Take Partners Worldwide</a>, another publicly funded Christian charity that administers “microloans” to aspiring small-business owners. “These servant-minded business professionals seek to grow their own businesses for the betterment of the Kingdom, and have access to business training and networking opportunities,” <a href="http://www.partnersworldwide.org/lci/business-seva/">the website states</a>, and explains that they “mentor micro-entrepreneurs in urban and rural sectors.”</p><p>This aid model clearly prioritizes Christians. It would be unconstitutional for a publicly funded charity to operate like this in the U.S., but the faith-based initiative program has created a loophole that allows individuals in developing countries to fall through the cracks.</p><p>USAID isn’t the only public entity responsible for funneling money to FBOs. The U.S. President’s Plan For AIDS relief (PEPFAR) <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/03/201332611171591221.html">also partners with local FBOs</a>, ostensibly to conduct AIDS relief, and it is difficult if not entirely impossible to find out how these local religious groups use the funds they’re given. It’s known, however, that the last Bush administration prioritized FBOs that taught abstinence-only sex education and discouraged the use of condoms, and it’s unclear how much has changed during Obama’s tenure in office.</p><p>Whatever the status of PEPFAR’s partnerships, it’s evident that there’s still a serious constitutional problem posed by the activities of publicly funded FBOs.</p><p>“Going forward, either grants to FBOs should be genuinely inclusive, and widely engage non-Christian FBOs, or the next administration should seriously consider turning the clock back to the days in which the makers of US foreign policy and development assistance took seriously the First Amendment,” Subramanya concludes.</p><p>We agree. There’s an ongoing lack of transparency and accountability for FBOs, even though they heavily rely on public funds for their global work. It’s time to remedy the oversight. </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/india">India</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/usaid">USAID</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/pepfar">PEPFAR</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-based-initiatives">faith-based initiatives</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/franklin-graham">Franklin Graham</a></span></div></div>Tue, 31 Mar 2015 17:52:17 +0000Ms. Sarah Jones10987 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/global-issues-us-charities-proselytize-overseas-using-public-funds#commentsOhio Drops Faith-Based Requirement For Schoolshttps://au.org/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/ohio-drops-faith-based-requirement-for-schools
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>A student mentoring program in Ohio will no longer require public schools to partner with faith-based organizations to be eligible.</p><p>Gov. John Kasich’s “Community Connectors” program allocated $10 million for mentorships, but the faith-based requirement was added after legislators voted to approve the program. After complaints from Americans United and the Americans Civil Liberties Union’s Ohio affiliate, the Kasich administration changed course.</p><p>In a letter, Americans United attorneys called the faith-based requirement “unconstitutional,” despite a provision mandating that religious participants sign an agreement not to proselytize to students.</p><p>“Many religious folk feel a powerful need to proselytize and see the public schools as a mission field; it is the height of naiveté to assume they will refrain from ministering to students,” the letter argued. The letter also threatened legal action if the Kasich administration did not move swiftly to make sure the program no longer violated the Constitution.</p><p>Although the “faith-based” language is still present, groups no longer have to be religiously affiliated in order to qualify as a mentorship partner. According to the Cleveland <em>Plain Dealer</em>, the Ohio Department of Education issued new guidelines announcing that “secular, non-religious, values-based organizations also qualify” for part­ici­pation­ in the program.</p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">AU Bulletin</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-distributions-events-and-evangelism-during-school-day">Religious Distributions, Events and Evangelism during the School Day</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-issues-regarding-religion-schools-and-universities">Other Issues regarding Religion in Schools and Universities</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-10903" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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<h2><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state">
The <span class="cs-month field">March</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2015</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/featured/same-sex-showdown">Same-Sex Showdown</a></h3>
<h4>Supreme Court Accepts Marriage- Equality Cases In What’s Shaping Up To Be An Epic ‘Culture War’ Battle</h4> </div>
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<h4>Courts Have Tended To Uphold ‘Ceremonial’ Uses Of Religion By The Government, But Critics Say It’s Time To Reassess</h4> </div>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/okla-legislator-seeks-to-outlaw-marriage-for">Okla. Legislator Seeks To Outlaw Marriage For Atheists</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/ny-vaccination-requirement-upheld-over-parents">NY Vaccination Requirement Upheld Over Parents’ Religious Objections</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/flap-over-michigan-city-cross-may-affect-local">Flap Over Michigan City Cross May Affect Local Council Elections</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/supreme-court-rules-for-ark-prisoner-in-dispute">Supreme Court Rules For Ark. Prisoner In Dispute Over Beard </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/ky-creationist-ministry-files-lawsuit-over-tax">Ky. Creationist Ministry Files Lawsuit Over Tax Funding For ‘Ark Park’ </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/americans-united-responds-to-pro-voucher-forces">Americans United Responds To Pro-Voucher Forces’ ‘School Choice Week’</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/residents-of-la-town-hold-rally-calling-for">Residents Of La. Town Hold Rally Calling For Official School Prayer </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/la-governor-speaks-at-religious-right-hosted">La. Governor Speaks At Religious Right-Hosted Evangelical Prayer Rally </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/viewpoint/fundamentally-extreme">Fundamentally Extreme</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/editorial/assailing-the-states-legislatures-become-labs-for-the">Assailing The States: Legislatures Become Labs For The Far Right</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/editorial/tax-aid-for-religious-bias-that-s-truly-gravely-evil">Tax Aid For Religious Bias: That’s Truly ‘Gravely Evil’ </a></span> </div></li>
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</div></div></div>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 15:15:00 +0000Timothy Ritz10912 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/ohio-drops-faith-based-requirement-for-schools#commentsAU warns Ohio Governor Over Church-Sponsored Mentoring Programhttps://au.org/church-state/february-2015-church-state/people-events/au-warns-ohio-governor-over-church-sponsored
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Ohio officials may not require public school districts to partner with churches and faith-based organizations as a condition of taking part in a tax-funded mentoring program, Americans United said recently.</p><p>In a letter sent Dec. 17 to Ohio Gov. John Kasich and other officials, Americans United explained that the Community Connectors program, which provides $10 million in 3-to-1 matching grants, violates the First Amendment because it gives religious organizations priority over secular groups.</p><p>“Public schools serve students from a wide range of religious and philosophical backgrounds,” said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United in a press statement. “Turning students over to mentors who may mix preaching with teaching is unconscionable, unwise and unconstitutional.”</p><p>The letter comes in response to recent media reports detailing the Ohio Department of Education’s decision to add the religious requirement to the program. One report said the change was made by State Superintendent Richard Ross after consultation with various advisers, including some of Kasich’s staff.</p><p>Community Connectors is championed by Kasich, who outlined the program in his 2014 state of the state address. He claims it is a solution to reducing the rate of high school dropouts in Ohio.</p><p>“When they give out public funds, states must not favor religious groups over non-religious groups,” said Americans United Associate Legal Director Alex J. Luchenitser. “That’s exactly what this program does, and it’s a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution.”</p><p>In its letter, Americans United noted that even though the Community Connectors program supposedly contains language barring taxpayer funding of religious organizations for worship, religious instruction or proselytizing, those stipulations are too easy to ignore in practice.</p><p>“But this restriction is easy to circumvent by simply not paying the volunteers who are actually going into the schools to mentor students,” AU pointed out. “Many religious folk feel a powerful need to proselytize and see the public schools as a mission field; it is the height of naïveté to simply assume that they will refrain from ministering to students.”</p><p>The letter was sent by Americans United Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan, Luchenitser and Staff Attorney Ian Smith. </p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">People &amp; Events</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/use-school-buildings-religious-groups-during-non-school-hours">Use of School Buildings by Religious Groups (during non-school hours)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-issues-regarding-religion-schools-and-universities">Other Issues regarding Religion in Schools and Universities</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-10837" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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<h2><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state">
The <span class="cs-month field">February</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2015</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
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<h4>Ky. Officials Decide To Reject $18 Million In Taxpayer Support For Fundamentalist-Themed &#039;Ark-Park&#039;</h4> </div>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/featured/myths-debunked">Myths Debunked</a></h3>
<h4>Religious Right Activists Love To Spread False Information About The Separation Of Church And State. Here Are Ten Rebuttals:</h4> </div>
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<h4>Books That Support Church-State Separation</h4> </div>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/featured/venal-vandal">Venal Vandal</a></h3>
<h4>Fla. Tea Partier And &#039;Catholic Warrior&#039; Attacks Religious Display At State Capitol Building</h4> </div>
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<div class="cs-department" id="section-au-bulletin"> <h3>AU Bulletin</h3>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/around-the-world-worldwide-atheist-persecution">Around The World: Worldwide Atheist Persecution On The Rise, Says Report</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/senate-confirms-religious-freedom-ambassador">Senate Confirms Religious Freedom Ambassador</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/nc-veterans-memorial-case-settled">N.C. Veterans Memorial Case Settled</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/muslim-inmate-forced-to-attend-christian">Muslim Inmate Forced To Attend Christian Services</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/ky-legislature-votes-to-display-in-god-we-trust">Ky. Legislature Votes To Display ‘In God We Trust’ Signs</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/so-called-religious-freedom-bill-fails-in-mich">So-Called ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill Fails In Mich. </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/judge-rules-pa-muslim-may-not-swear-on-quran">Judge Rules Pa. Muslim May Not Swear On Quran</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/people-events/au-warns-la-governor-over-plans-to-host">AU Warns La. Governor Over Plans To Host Official Prayer Rally </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/people-events/lawsuit-over-calif-cross-may-spark-land-sale">Lawsuit Over Calif. Cross May Spark Land Sale To Private Group </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/people-events/mont-officials-insist-clerks-don-t-have-to">Mont. Officials Insist Clerks Don’t Have To Serve Same-Sex Couples</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/people-events/au-warns-ohio-governor-over-church-sponsored">AU warns Ohio Governor Over Church-Sponsored Mentoring Program</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/people-events/atlanta-fire-chief-facing-heat-for-anti-gay">Atlanta Fire Chief Facing Heat For Anti-Gay Comments </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/people-events/fired-teacher-wins-discrimination-case-against">Fired Teacher Wins Discrimination Case Against Ind. Catholic School</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/people-events/orthodox-jewish-group-announces-major-push-for">Orthodox Jewish Group Announces Major Push For School Aid In New York</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/people-events/mich-town-officials-vote-to-stop-displaying">Mich. Town Officials Vote To Stop Displaying Cross After AU Intervention</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/perspective/hats-in-the-ring-early-questions-for">Hats In The Ring: Early Questions For Presidential Contenders</a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-editorial"> <h3>Editorial</h3>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/editorial/a-troubled-voyage-ky-ark-park-never-deserved">A Troubled Voyage: Ky. ‘Ark Park’ Never Deserved Taxpayer Aid </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/february-2015-church-state/editorial/politicians-at-prayer-their-goal-is-usually">Politicians At Prayer: Their Goal Is Usually Winning Votes, Not Souls </a></span> </div></li>
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ohio">Ohio</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/community-connectors">Community Connectors</a></span></div></div>Mon, 02 Feb 2015 15:45:00 +0000Timothy Ritz10857 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/church-state/february-2015-church-state/people-events/au-warns-ohio-governor-over-church-sponsored#commentsAmericans United Warns Ohio Officials That Public Schools Can’t Be Required To Partner With Houses Of Worship https://au.org/media/press-releases/americans-united-warns-ohio-officials-that-public-schools-can-t-be-required-to
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Ohio officials may not require public school districts to partner with churches and faith-based organizations as a condition of taking part in a tax-funded mentoring program, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.au.org/files/Columbus%20OH%20Community%20Connectors%20Letter.pdf">In a letter</a> sent to Ohio officials, Americans United explains that the Community Connectors program, which provides $10 million in 3-to-1 matching grants, violates the First Amendment because it gives religious organizations priority over secular groups.</p><p>“Public schools serve students from a wide range of religious and philosophical backgrounds,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Turning students over to mentors who may mix preaching with teaching is unconscionable, unwise and unconstitutional.”</p><p>The letter comes in response to recent media reports detailing the Ohio Department of Education’s decision to add the religious requirement to the program. One report said the change was made by State Superintendent Richard Ross after consultation with various advisers, including some of Gov. John Kasich’s staff.</p><p>Community Connectors is championed by Kasich, who outlined the program in his 2014 state of the state address. He claims it is a solution to reducing the rate of high school dropouts in Ohio.</p><p>“When they give out public funds, states must not favor religious groups over non-religious groups,” said Americans United Associate Legal Director Alex J. Luchenitser. “That’s exactly what this program does, and it’s a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution.”</p><p>In its letter, Americans United notes that even though the Community Connectors program supposedly contains language barring taxpayer funding of religious organizations for worship, religious instruction or proselytizing, those stipulations are too easy to ignore in practice.</p><p>“But this restriction is easy to circumvent by simply not paying the volunteers who are actually going into the schools to mentor students,” AU points out. “Many religious folk feel a powerful need to proselytize and see the public schools as a mission field; it is the height of naïveté to simply assume that they will refrain from ministering to students.”</p><p>The letter was sent by Americans United Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan, Luchenitser and Staff Attorney Ian Smith. It asks for a response within 30 days.<br /><br /> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/community-connectors">Community Connectors</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/john-kasich">John Kasich</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ohio-department-of-education">Ohio Department of Education</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/state-superintendent-richard-ross">State Superintendent Richard Ross</a></span></div></div><h3 >State Must Take Steps To Protect Students In Mentoring Program From Proselytism, Says Church-State&nbsp;Watchdog</h3><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/ohio">Ohio</a></span></div></div>Fri, 19 Dec 2014 16:21:39 +0000Simon Brown10757 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/media/press-releases/americans-united-warns-ohio-officials-that-public-schools-can-t-be-required-to#commentsFaith-Based Fraud In Florida: Taxpayer-Funded Sectarian Ministry Accused Of Exploiting Workershttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/faith-based-fraud-in-florida-taxpayer-funded-sectarian-ministry-accused-of
<a href="/about/people/ms-sarah-jones">Sarah Jones</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New Beginnings Ministry, which provides housing for the homeless, sends its residents to work concessions stands without pay for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as and the city’s other professional sports teams and the Daytona 500.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>A fundamentalist Christian ministry has been supplying an NFL team with unpaid labor, <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/specials/tampa-homeless-program-uses-unpaid-destitute-residents-as-steady-labor/2208350">according to a Tampa Bay <em>Times</em> investigation</a>.</p><p>New Beginnings Ministry, which provides housing for the homeless, sends its residents to work concessions stands without pay for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as the city’s other professional sports teams and the Daytona 500. It’s a practice that labor experts swiftly condemned as exploitive and illegal.<br /><br />But there’s another sordid twist to the story: New Beginnings also receives public funds, partners with government entities and is in consideration to run a taxpayer-funded homeless shelter on behalf of Hillsborough County, Florida.</p><p>The ministry’s founder, the Rev. Tom Atchison, is accused of confiscating residents’ pay, Social Security checks and food stamps. Former employees also report a history of fraud. “A New Beginnings contractor told the <em>Times</em> he overbilled the state for at least $80,000 of grant money, then gave the money to the program instead of returning it,” the <em>Times </em>reports.</p><p>And according to the paper, public funds are a primary source of income for the ministry. “New Beginnings operates three thrift stores that sell donated furniture. It also routinely wins grants, and is in the last year of a five-year, $274,000 contract with Veterans Affairs to provide 15 beds for homeless vets,” noted the <em>Times</em>.</p><p>On its website, <a href="http://www.newbeginningsoftampa.com/?page_id=867">the ministry lists</a> the Veterans Administration as a sponsor of its work, alongside the Florida Department of Children and Families and the City of Tampa.</p><p>These government partnerships occurred despite the fact that religion permeates every facet of the ministry’s “treatment program.” Atchison also serves as the pastor of New Life Pentecostal Church, and New Beginnings residents have frequently been pressed into service to answer the church’s phones, play in its band and even seek more grants to fund its religious activities.<br /><br />The ministry’s “counseling” for its residents, who are often experiencing mental illness and recovering from addiction, also appears to be sectarian and based on dogma, rather than on established professional protocols. The <em>Times </em>says much of that counseling is actually just Bible study, led by Atchison himself.</p><p>Atchison holds a theological degree from the unaccredited and apparently defunct Berean Bible College. James Ellis, hired by Atchison to run the ministry’s emergency shelter, also has ministerial degrees but no academic or professional qualification in counseling or addiction recovery.</p><p>If New Beginnings is approved to run the Hillsborough County shelter, it will receive a state contract worth $1.6 million. It will also likely violate the First Amendment.</p><p>The <em>Times </em>investigation unearthed a disturbing pattern of exploitive practices that the ministry has justified by pointing to its dogma. There is no reason any of this should be funded by Florida taxpayers. In light of these serious allegations of fraud and abuse, government officials need to pull funding from New Beginnings. </p><p>This funding, of course, should not have been extended at all. If the state of Florida had adhered to First Amendment standards, it would have refrained from ever funneling taxpayer dollars to such a blatantly sectarian ministry.</p><p>The taxpayers have footed the bill, but it’s really the homeless who’ve paid the price. Ending homelessness is an admirable goal, and the state has an understandable interest in obtaining it. But as long as Florida chooses to fund ministries like New Beginnings, that goal will remain out of reach, and our most vulnerable neighbors will bear the brunt of that failure.</p><p> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/florida">Florida</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/new-beginnings">New Beginnings</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/nfl">NFL</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-based-initiatives">faith-based initiatives</a></span></div></div>Tue, 02 Dec 2014 17:26:11 +0000Ms. Sarah Jones10726 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/faith-based-fraud-in-florida-taxpayer-funded-sectarian-ministry-accused-of#commentsGet Disentangled!https://au.org/church-state/november-2014-church-state/viewpoint/get-disentangled
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p><em>By The Rev. Rollin Russell</em></p><p>America’s noisy evangelicals must not have taken Christian Ethics 101. In response to Presi­dent Barack Obama’s recent executive order banning discrimination against LGBT persons by any organization that has a federal government contract, they are hyper-ventilating in their victim mode. </p><p>They believe they should be able to discriminate if they want to and if it offends their religious convictions not to do so. They even have an Evangelical Association of Government Contractors to plead their case, and of course the National Association of Evangelicals is in high dudgeon over the order. The obvious alternative seems never to have occurred to them: Do not enter into government contracts.</p><p>Congress and the last two administrations have been bullied into creating an Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. The Bush administration used it as an apparent payoff for evangelical electoral support, and the Obama administration furthers it in the hopes of keeping those folks at bay.</p><p>The Faith-Based Initiative awards government grants to churches to carry on their benevolent ministries with very few strings attached. A 2002 Bush directive allowed recipients to hire workers whose faith was consistent with their own, stated in terms that are very vague. These church bodies now seem to feel entitled to discriminate without interference from the government at whose table they are fed. The new executive order simply requires government agencies and contractors to abide by the spirit and the letter of anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBT employees.</p><p>In Christian Ethics 101 it was and still should be emphasized that there are two dangers for religious bodies in a free society. The first is sectarian withdrawal from culture, the stance of the Amish, Jehovah’s Witnesses, some Mennonites and others who decline to serve in the military, salute the flag, pledge allegiance, etc.</p><p>The second danger is entanglement, becoming so involved with partisan politics or in government programs, including putting a hand in the government’s pocket, that the government can, in turn, hold the church accountable in ways that it feels might impinge on its freedom.</p><p>Evangelical churches with government contracts are experiencing the downside of entanglement: take the money, accept the terms. Whether or not they have the paper-thin legal basis for their demands, they clearly have no ethical basis for taking public funds and then disregarding anti-discrimination laws.</p><p>Their claim of the right to discriminate on religious grounds may carry some validity as it pertains to their personal lives, but the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution clearly does not say that institutionalized establishments of religion must be exempt from the laws of the land. The First Amendment specifically requires the separation of government from any establishment of religion, and overly broad exemptions from our laws would clearly show government favor to particular religious establishments.</p><p>Strangely, up until the mid-1950s, many of these religious groups had been borderline sectarians, eschewing participation in politics and trying hard to ignore the government. Then they decided to get involved through the so-called Moral Majority and other religiously based political groups. Now they are on the gravy train and still want their religious prerogatives honored.</p><p>The United States is a secular society that honors all religious traditions by giving them freedom to worship, teach and propagate their re­s­pective faiths. Tax-exempt status for churches and non-profit organizations is predicated on their continuing benevolent work and refraining from partisan political activity. This arrangement preserves the churches’ independence and allows them to participate freely in public discourse. If they push the envelope by taking government grants, they should be willing to abide by its regulations.</p><p>Never mind that the regulations in question – non-discrimination against American citizens who have as much right to their opinions and lifestyles as do evangelicals – are a matter of equal justice. And, never mind that justice for LGBT Americans is catching on in the law, after many decades of discrimination. The real heart of the matter for evangelicals should be that equal justice is a much stronger imperative in the scriptures of the Christian faith than is discrimination against LGBT people or anyone else. </p><p>So, be more concerned about your ethics than about your finances and get disentangled – or stop protesting the attached strings.</p><p> </p><p><em>The Rev. Rollin Russell is president of the Orange-Durham (N.C.) Chapter of Am­eri­cans United.</em></p><p> </p></div></div><h3 >Houses of Worship Must Learn That Caesar&#039;s Coins Came With&nbsp;Controls</h3><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Viewpoint</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice">In the Workplace: Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/outside-workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice-including-military-prisons">Outside the Workplace: Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice (including in the Military, Prisons, Housing, Healthcare, etc.)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-free-exercise-issues-including-rfras-zoning-etc">Other Free Exercise Issues (including RFRAs, zoning, etc.)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-10638" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/people-events/new-poll-suggests-more-americans-want-to-see">New Poll Suggests More Americans Want To See Religion Mixed With Politics</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/people-events/americans-united-asks-for-equal-time-in-flap">Americans United Asks For Equal Time In Flap Over Mich. City Cross Display</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/people-events/au-reminds-pastors-not-to-get-engaged-in">AU Reminds Pastors Not To Get Engaged In Pulpit Partisan Politicking</a></span> </div></li>
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<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/viewpoint/get-disentangled">Get Disentangled!</a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-perspective"> <h3>Perspective</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/perspective/scaling-the-summit-what-i-learned-at-this-years">Scaling The Summit: What I Learned At This Year&#039;s Far-Right Shindig</a></span> </div></li>
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<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/editorial/smart-state-south-dakota-chooses-to-support-public">Smart State: South Dakota Chooses To Support Public Schools</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/editorial/movement-on-marriage-arguments-based-on-theology">Movement On Marriage: Arguments Based On Theology Have Failed </a></span> </div></li>
</ul></div><div class="cs-department" id="section-au-bulletin"> <h3>AU Bulletin</h3>
<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/au-bulletin/supreme-court-set-to-hear-hijab-case">Supreme Court Set To Hear Hijab Case</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/au-bulletin/ala-lawmakers-consider-school-prayer-bill">Ala. Lawmakers Consider School Prayer Bill</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/au-bulletin/utah-sect-cites-hobby-lobby-in-child-labor-case">Utah Sect Cites Hobby Lobby In Child Labor Case</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/au-bulletin/ken-ham-appears-at-md-neo-confederate-event">Ken Ham Appears At Md. Neo-Confederate Event </a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/au-bulletin/okla-court-allows-ten-commandments-to-remain">Okla. Court Allows Ten Commandments To Remain</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/au-bulletin/mo-city-rejects-in-god-we-trust-display">Mo. City Rejects ‘In God We Trust’ Display</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-7 views-row-odd">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/au-bulletin/ark-gun-range-owner-bans-muslims">Ark. Gun Range Owner Bans Muslims</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-8 views-row-even views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/november-2014-church-state/au-bulletin/around-the-world-ireland-to-hold-referendum-on">Around The World: Ireland To Hold Referendum On Blasphemy Laws</a></span> </div></li>
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbt-rights">LGBT rights</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-chapter field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Chapters:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/chapters/orange-durham">Orange-Durham</a></div></div></div>Mon, 03 Nov 2014 15:32:25 +0000Timothy Ritz10643 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/church-state/november-2014-church-state/viewpoint/get-disentangled#commentsRob Boston in Charleston, SC, October 19https://au.org/blogs/in-the-field/rob-boston-in-charleston-sc-october-19
<div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/in-the-field">In The Field</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Don&#039;t miss this opportunity to hear from one of the leading experts in the country on the Religious Right.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Americans United Communications Director, and author, Rob Boston is speaking in Charleston on Sunday, October 19. His topic is “Religious Freedom: What It Is And What It Is Not.”<br /><!--break--><br />Rob is touring the country following the release of his latest book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Liberties-Religious-Freedom-Doesnt/dp/1616149116">"Taking Liberties: Why Religious Freedom Doesn't Give You the Right to Tell Other People What to Do."</a> For more than 27 years Rob has documented the work of Religious Right zelots, often first hand, who would like nothing more than to impose their warped version of "religious liberty" on everyone. <br /><br />The event, sponsored by Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry, is free and open to the public. All are welcome.<br /><br />Don't miss this opportunity to hear from one of the leading experts in the country on the Religious Right.<br /> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/creationism-evolution">Creationism &amp; Evolution</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/school-prayer">School Prayer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/vouchers">Vouchers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/reproductive-health-conscience-clauses-for-religious-objectors">Reproductive Health &amp; Conscience Clauses for Religious Objectors</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/responding-common-attacks-church-state-separation">Responding to Common Attacks on Church-State Separation</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a></span></div></div>Tue, 30 Sep 2014 19:16:30 +0000Ms. Beth Corbin10539 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/in-the-field/rob-boston-in-charleston-sc-october-19#commentsAmericans United, ACLU Settlement In Ky. Lawsuit Challenging Religious Coercion At State-Funded Children’s Home Will Proceedhttps://au.org/media/press-releases/americans-united-aclu-settlement-in-ky-lawsuit-challenging-religious-coercion
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A settlement in a case challenging religious coercion at a state-funded home for children will proceed after a Kentucky federal judge rejected the religiously affiliated home’s objections to that settlement.</span></font></span></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"><br /><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.au.org/files/Opinion%20granting%20voluntary%20dismissal%20%28June%2030%202014%29.pdf">Yesterday’s decision</a> in </span></font><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>Pedreira v. Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children</i></span></font><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> should end a fourteen-year legal fight involving the state of Kentucky, which had allocated public funds to the home. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Washington, DC-based international law firm Arnold &amp; Porter LLP had charged that state funds were being used to proselytize children and advance religion.</span></font></span></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></font></span></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Under the settlement, which was agreed upon in March 2013, child-care agencies that contract with the state will be forbidden to discriminate in any manner against any child based on the child’s views about religion or to pressure children to participate in religious worship or instruction. Publicly funded child-care agencies and foster homes across the state also will be barred from placing religious items in children’s rooms without their consent, and religious materials will be given only to children who request such materials.</span></font></span></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 14pt 0px;"><font face="Times New Roman,serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial,sans-serif">In addition, prior to placing a child with a religiously affiliated child-care agency or foster home, the state will inform children and parents of the provider’s religious affiliation, and if the child or parent objects, the state will endeavor to provide an alternative placement, except in certain special circumstances.</font></span></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But Sunrise Children’s Services, formerly known as Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children, had asked the court to reject the settlement.</span></font></span></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"><br /><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“We’re pleased that the court has allowed this settlement to proceed,” said Alex J. Luchenitser, Americans United’s associate legal director. “The settlement will protect taxpayers from being forced to subsidize religious indoctrination, and it will protect vulnerable children from religious coercion, discrimination, and proselytization.”</span></font></span></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></font></span></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“</span></font><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We’re glad that this case has finally been brought to an agreeable conclusion,” said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “Taxpayer funds should never be used for religious indoctrination.”</span></font></span></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></font></span></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"><font face="Calibri,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Arial,sans-serif" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Attorneys representing the plaintiffs include Luchenitser, Americans United Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan; ACLU attorneys Mach, Bill Sharp, and James Esseks; and attorneys David Bergman, R. Stanton Jones, and Ian Hoffman of Arnold &amp; Porter.</span></font></span></font></div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/outside-workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice-including-military-prisons">Outside the Workplace: Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice (including in the Military, Prisons, Housing, Healthcare, etc.)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-free-exercise-issues-including-rfras-zoning-etc">Other Free Exercise Issues (including RFRAs, zoning, etc.)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/aclu">ACLU</a></span></div></div><h3 >Federal Judge Overrules Objections By Sunrise Children’s&nbsp;Services</h3>Tue, 01 Jul 2014 18:41:57 +0000Timothy Ritz10230 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/media/press-releases/americans-united-aclu-settlement-in-ky-lawsuit-challenging-religious-coercion#commentsAnti-Drug Program In Calif. Public Schools Linked To Scientology https://au.org/church-state/julyaugust-2014-church-state/people-events/anti-drug-program-in-calif-public-schools
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Reports indicate that an anti-drug program rooted in the Church of Scientology never left California’s public schools – even though it was supposedly removed nearly a decade ago.</p><p>A recent investigative report by Nanette Asimov of the <em>San Francisco Chronicle</em> detailed the resilience of “Narconon,” a Scientology-founded program that church members claim can help people wrestling with substance abuse.</p><p>Narconon representatives had been delivering anti-drug messages to public school students for years until 2005. That year, a $30,000 review by doctors and the California Department of Education concluded that the program had no basis in actual science or medicine. As a result, it lost its formal seal of approval.</p><p>Despite the negative report, the <em>Chronicle</em> said, 28 California public schools have offered Narconon lectures to students since 2007.</p><p>Critics say Narconon is based on the work of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The<em> Chronicle </em>reviewed Narconon materials prepared for use in schools and found erroneous claims that ingested drugs remain stored in body fat for years. Supposedly, these stored drugs can leak out at some future point, particularly when an individual is feeling stres­sed. This can allegedly lead to relapse.</p><p>A Narconon website asserts that the drugs can be released by something as simple as “walking to the mail­box or getting in an argument with a family member where stress and increased heart rate and blood pressure occurs. Once these toxins are re-released the person will get a craving, thought, urge, sometimes can taste or smell the drug or feel the effects of it and they then go and use the drug or alcohol and relapse occurs.”</p><p>The newspaper also found links between Scientology doctrine and the Narconon curriculum. For example, Nar­conon materials from 2005 and 2008 use a term called “tone scale,” which is a Scientology teaching related to emotions. The program also relies on saunas and sweat rituals, which it claims will remove toxins, a ritual Scientologists call “Purification handling.”</p><p>Scientology officials insist that Narconon is a secular program, but as far as the IRS is concerned, Scientology is a religion. The group fought for years to be classified as such so it could enjoy the benefits of tax exemption.</p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">People &amp; Events</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-distributions-events-and-evangelism-during-school-day">Religious Distributions, Events and Evangelism during the School Day</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-issues-regarding-religion-schools-and-universities">Other Issues regarding Religion in Schools and Universities</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-10202" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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<h2><a href="/church-state/julyaugust-2014-church-state">
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/scientology">Scientology</a></span></div></div>Tue, 01 Jul 2014 15:48:01 +0000Timothy Ritz10224 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/church-state/julyaugust-2014-church-state/people-events/anti-drug-program-in-calif-public-schools#commentsThe Bishops’ Lament: Losing Tax Money And Losing Public Support https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-bishops-lament-losing-tax-money-and-losing-public-support
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Social services run by entities that don’t use them to deny people their basic human rights or foist their religion onto the unwilling! What is this world coming to?</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>The U.S. Catholic bishops met in New Orleans last week. I read <a href="http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/bishops-receive-stark-image-state-american-society">an account</a> of this meeting in the <em>National Catholic Reporter</em> last week, and two things struck me.</p><p>One, the bishops are really worried that they might lose the lucrative contracts they get from the federal government because of their increasingly out-of-step views on issues like LGBT rights and access to birth control.</p><p>A lot of people aren’t aware of this, but Catholic Charities basically would not exist if it were not for you the taxpayer. About 62 percent of the organization’s budget <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/us/for-bishops-a-battle-over-whose-rights-prevail.html?pagewanted=1&amp;_r=2">comes from government sources</a>.</p><p>Every now and then, a government official has the temerity to actually try to bring some accountability to that money. An elected official or a bureaucrat might mandate, for example, that employees at taxpayer-funded Catholic groups receive contraceptive coverage or that LGBT Americans be served alongside everyone else.</p><p>Helen Alvaré, a professor at George Mason University who advises church officials, carped that it is “getting difficult” for the church to work with the federal government “because of laws like a federal mandate requiring coverage of contraceptive services in health care plans.”</p><p>“We have always believed it has been eminently possible and good for us to partner with the public authority,” Alvaré said. “Part of me worries some [people] at some levels of government are beginning to imagine a charitable services world where we are not a partner.”</p><p>Imagine that – social services run by entities that don’t use them to deny people their basic human rights or foist their religion onto the unwilling! What is this world coming to?</p><p>It gets even more galling: <em>The Reporter</em> noted that Alvaré, whose talk focused on “the new evangelization and poverty,” suggested “that the U.S. bishops could better evangelize by emphasizing their work to serve those in need.”</p><p>So the bishops want to use their mostly tax-funded social service programs to evangelize those in need and draw them into the church. Does anyone else see a problem here?</p><p>The second thing that struck me is that the bishops are completely flummoxed by the evolving situation concerning same-sex marriage. You can sense their frustration – and even terror – as the polls turn against them.</p><p>W. Bradford Wilcox, a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, talked to the bishops about marriage and its benefits. Wilcox pointed to research showing that children tend to do better when they come from stable homes with two parents present.</p><p>A couple of the bishops questioned Wilcox about same-sex marriage, which they seemed to assume is bad for children. To his credit, Wilcox noted that the research doesn’t back that up. Stability, he noted, is the key.</p><p>“Most of the scientists would say that there’s no difference… between a stable same-sex family and a stable heterosexual family,” Wilcox told the bishops.</p><p>He later added, “I think that the assumption…is that when same-sex marriage is legalized and it is given cultural support, it will be as stable as heterosexual marriage.”</p><p>When Bishop Joseph Tyson of Washington state asked if there was data to back that up, Wilcox replied, “The data suggest that same-sex couples – and this is really preliminary – are more likely to have stable relationships when the legal regime is more supportive of their relationships.”</p><p>So families do better when the government offers them support and values them? You don’t say! Somehow I’m thinking this was not the answer the bishops wanted to hear. (This is especially noteworthy because Wilcox <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/regnerus-study-backer-acknowledges-marriage-equality-creates-family-stability">has not exactly been a fan</a> of same-sex marriage in the past.)</p><p>I have no problem with these guys serving the poor and spreading their views about marriage (even though I disagree with those views). I just want them to understand that if their program involves evangelism, if it discriminates against people on the basis of who they love or if it interferes with the personal medical decisions of others, they shouldn’t expect one dime of taxpayer funding for it.</p><p>The bishops have consistently had problems grasping the idea that people who don’t agree with their theology (and their politics, which are increasingly jumbled together) might not want to subsidize their church. In fact, they seem to want to have the best of both worlds: They want all of the taxpayer money they can get with none of the government’s oversight and regulation.</p><p>Simple decency and evolving cultural attitudes in America are increasingly making that stance a non-starter.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/faith-based-initiative-government-funding-religious-social-service-providers">The Faith-Based Initiative &amp; Government Funding of Religious Social Service Providers</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/us-conference-catholic-bishops">U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/helen-alvare">Helen Alvare</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/w-bradford-wilcox">W. Bradford Wilcox</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/university-of-virginia">University of Virginia</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/george-mason-university">George Mason University</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/joseph-tyson">Joseph Tyson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/national-catholic-reporter">National Catholic Reporter</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/same-sex-marriage">same-sex marriage</a></span></div></div>Mon, 16 Jun 2014 14:45:04 +0000Rob Boston10153 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-bishops-lament-losing-tax-money-and-losing-public-support#comments